


you make california boring (because you're in hawkins)

by Badassmikaelsons



Series: quality yt content [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Masturbation, Multi, Pre-Relationship, neil hargrove is racist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-17 23:27:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21551509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badassmikaelsons/pseuds/Badassmikaelsons
Summary: Billy was in California when it happened, the worst fucking place to have been at the time. Because it meant he couldn't do shit about the situation until it was too late.-a prequel to exposing billy hargrove, the blonde himself goes through stages of figuring out that he loves a certain pretty boy.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair
Series: quality yt content [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531601
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	1. sparked my flame

**_August 2015_ **

Billy was in California when it happened, the worst fucking place to have been at the time. Because it meant he couldn't do shit about the situation until it was too late.  
  
That noon, the blonde enjoyed the peaceful waves swaying in the sea, with a surfboard beneath him and the saltwater caressing his already golden skin. The only thought in his mind was how he was gonna thank the kids for this birthday present. _"The fact that you're living for twenty-one years now gives many of us hope that we can all be alive at least until that point, Billy," Max stated like the bitch she was -Billy couldn't love her more- as he looked at the hotel ticket in his hands with awe._  
  
The sun was starting to set when he made his way to his piece of shit Toyota Corolla that he had no other choice but to get since his Camaro bit the dust a while back -he couldn't wait for the day that he got his baby fixed-. As he got in the car, Billy heard his phone give one last vibrate and stop, he reached for his mobile in curiosity to see who called. Before he could furrow his eyebrows in worry when he noticed that Max had called seven times, the phone rang once more with the caller ID showing that it was her again.  
  
The blonde didn't let the phone finish its first pulse, answering the call immediately.  
  
"Billy," Max said, her voice cracking like she had been straining it for a while, and Billy started to think thousands of things that could have happened to her.  
  
"What happened?" the elder asked, cutting through any bullshit so she could just tell him what was going on. Billy was never the patient type, especially when it came down to his shitbird.  
  
"Neil- he found out..." she couldn't even get to finish her sentence before she started crying silently. The redhead always hated crying in front of everyone, but the situation called for it, and this gave Billy the exact detail that he needed.  
  
Billy had expected this day would come eventually. But it fucking _sucked_ that it had to happen when he was away.  
  
He set his phone to speaker mode and placed his phone in the holder -the cheap car didn't have Bluetooth for fuck's sake-. "I'm on my way, ok spark? I'll see you soon," Billy assured Max, although his tone wasn't much calmer than hers anyway. He knew what Neil was capable of and the thought of him doing anything to her or even Sinclair made his skin agitated.   
  
"Okay," she whispered before they said their byes and closed their call.  
  


California was over two thousand miles away from Indi-fucking-ana, which meant that it would've taken days for him to get there with his worthless vehicle. He wasn't able to afford that loss of time since he needed to be there for Max at that moment, however, he did have a couple of hundred bucks he didn't have to think twice about spending on a flight and a parking fee.   
  
Which was why he was currently inside a plane, barely listening to the announcer that was giving safety instructions. He'd have his phone open, just in case his sister called again, but he didn't want to increase the chance of him dying on the way home, so closed his phone was.

**⁂**

  
  
_"Just because you're a racist fuck, doesn't mean I have to be one, Billy!" a younger Max yelled at her eighteen-year-old stepbrother. Her chest heaved with exaggeration and her hair all over the place as she kept on grabbing her scalp._  
  
_She was every bit mad... She had every right to be._  
  
_It had taken many pokes to Lucas' sides for him to admit why he was feeling low-key pissed that morning. The source had been Billy, who'd knocked him down to the grassy ground before giving one of his famous lines, "stay away from her". It had Max thinking that homicide might be the best and only option._  
  
_"Lower your fucking voice, Maxine!" Billy hypocritically started to raise his own, already annoyed since he had just come home from working at the community pool only to have her rain hellfire on him._  
  
_The blonde had been dwelling at the fact that she was being utterly loud to realise what she was even saying. But time went on and it eventually sank into his sensitive head._  
  
_"Who the fuck told you I was racist?" Billy spat out, looking offended at the accusation. Max widened her eyes when she saw his expression and was so confused at what was unfolding._  
  
_"No one has to! The shit you do to Lucas is racist, dumbass!" Max explained harshly, still lost to how Billy doesn't think he's racist. This had to have been a stupid joke._  
  
_There were few seconds of silence until it fleeted by the sound of the elder, who started to chuckle manically, looking like he's lost his final bit of sanity in him. It began to scare Max a little as she took a step back -she would never admit this even in death-._  
  
_"I'm not the one who's racist, shitbird," Billy was able to say after he calmed down, however still grinning but his eyes filled with anger and anyone who was a witness of his glare would've thought of him as a sociopath._  
  
_"Oh? And I'm Barack Obama?" Max sarcastically asked, putting in the fakest, enthusiastic tone. Describing it as belittling would've been an understatement._  
  
_It only sparked a flame in Hargrove, a flame that quickly turned to a forest fire. Terrifying, shocking but very real, with darkness left as remains, that's what the truth he revealed felt like anyway._  
  
_"Guess what Barack Obama?" Billy took a big step forward, the only noise heard was the clink of his boots, he slowly bent down to meet eye to eye with his step-sister and 'revealed'; "It doesn't matter if you're the president, Neil still fantasizes lynchin' you and your entire community"._  
  
_Max froze. But the words burned._  
  
_"What are you-"_  
  
_"I'm talkin' about how Neil might as well be in the fucking **K! K! K!** " the blonde interrupted her question, emphasizing each acronym for that horrid terrorist group. He looked at her with desperation in his eyes, like he's begging her to finally get it through her thick skull so he wouldn't have to elaborate any longer. _  
  
_However, Max was still trying to wrap her head around this revelation._  
  
_"How-"_  
  
_Billy disrupted her one more time. "You think we came to Hawkins because I was caught suckin' cock?" he questioned crudely, standing back to his normal stance as his back was starting to ache._  
  
_Max furrowed her brows in confusion, biting her bottom lips like she was deep in thought before responding, "but he always calls you the f word when he's mad..." she trailed off as she looked at Billy's face the entire time._  
  
_"I'm not saying he doesn't hate that I'm a fag, shitbird," he paused, roaming his hands around his pockets to find a cigarette. He really needed one for fuck's sake. "I'm saying that he'd rather have me get hitched with a white man than a black woman"._  
  
_That sentence shouldn't have made any sense at all. How could a homophobe prefer their son dating a man over a woman? But it just showed how much he despised black people._  
  
_The redhead never felt so cold._  
  
_"I'm trying to protect the both of you from him," her brother stated before he walked outside for a smoke, at least tried to until Max grabbed his arm._  
  
_"How is treating Lucas like shit, protecting us?" Mayfield asked, using air quotes with the word 'protecting', she almost refused to believe anything that came out of his mouth, but then he faced her one last time and replied with a change of tone that made her realize he was serious._  
  
_"If both of you aren't together, there's no risk of you getting caught. No chance of him finding out. No way for him to beat the Sinclair kid till he's a vegetable for the rest of his fucking life," Billy's voice cracked subtly at the last word and hurriedly left the house._  
  
_Max may have been confused most of the time, but she was not stupid to add together what happened to the person Billy was seen with. His actions weren't forgettable, he was still a fucker that thought with his fists -even Steve when he was still in high school got a piece of his 'thinking'-, but it made sense now. He wasn't evil, just too damn stubborn in his violent ways._  
  
_If anyone knew a damn thing about her, it was that she was as stubborn as he was, so Neil could bring his worst for all she cared. Unlike Billy, she wasn't alone in this._

**⁂**

It took Billy a while to come to terms that Max and Lucas weren't gonna back down from his acts of aggression. Although once he did, his walls came down crumbling, allowing Max to see his inner emotions whether it was fear or the most innocent kind of joy. He even got on his goddamn knees to apologize to the boy, as he realized that he looked like he was out to get him because he didn't like the colour of his skin.  
  
Billy smiled despite the turbulence in the plane, remembering how uncomfortable everyone looked, not to mention pretty boy's protective stance like he was their fucking dad or something.

**⁂**

  
Billy was lucky enough able to find a cab driver willing to take him to Hawkins, although it was silent throughout the car ride, the thoughts in his head couldn't have been louder.  
  
He could barely admit to himself that he was terrified at what he was gonna see. Would Neil have snapped even worse and kill the boy? Is Max currently witnessing a modern fucking lynching? Billy's heart raced the closer he got, worried for the worst-case scenarios.   
  
It was dark out, which made the siren lights outside the Hawkins Police Station much brighter, it was nearly blinding. Billy squinted his eyes half-shut and got out of the car after paying the driver generously in gratitude.  
  
When he made his way through the entrance, his gaze immediately searched for a girl with red hair who probably had been looking worse for wear. He knew this place like it was his second home -he did sleep here quite often in his late teens-, but it was never this fucking noisy before. He didn't say anything to the receptionist as he fast-paced towards the sound of familiar whimpering, having used to hearing it when he and Max would watch a Pixar movie.  
  
The first person he noticed was a seated Susan, who had her arms wrapped around her daughter, like doing so would make sure no monster could get to her, even if in reality she couldn't do jackshit when one came real close.  
  
Max looked drained.  
  
And it hurt Billy to see her like this, _it did_.  
  
But he sighed in relief, weak in the knees as adrenaline finished coursing through his veins. She looked better than he expected. Considering the fucked-up scenarios he conjured in his head on the way here, it was as if every weight in the world fell off his shoulders because what he saw in her wasn't grief. Which meant that Lucas was gonna be okay, and so was his spark.  
  
This was infinitely times better than what had happened to him, to TJ. Because he didn't turn out alright, **never** would.  
  
The blonde was barely able to walk up to Max, but when he did, both mother and daughter looked up to see who was slightly blocking their view. When Max realized who it was, she gathered her remaining energy to nudge Susan's arms off of her and stood up to fall onto him, like the only thing she needed was his comfort.  
  
He'd be damn fucking cruel to deny her of it, so he embraced her with a hand in her unkempt hair and an arm around her waist, keeping her from crumbling.  
  
They stayed like that for what seemed like hours -realistically it was for five minutes, which was still long-, but it was interrupted when a grunt they'd heard plenty times before took them out of their empty thoughts. Billy tensed up; tightening his grip on her and turned to see the half excuse of a man he hadn't seen in a long fucking time -seeing as he moved out as soon as he turned nineteen-.  
  
The blonde had to admit that he was a little confused to witness his father get dragged from the entrance -with Powell looking more fed up than usual- towards a jail cell _. Isn't he supposed to be in there already?_ He thought.  
  
However, the confusion was nothing compared to the surprise when he saw Neil's face... Battered. With stitches placed under his bottom lip and an eye, swollen shut.  
  
It was such an amazing fucking sight. The sound, however, was ugly in all its glory.  
  
"You let this happen, didn't you, boy!?" Neil voiced out to Billy, the last word spat like it was poison in his mouth, which summarized the way he treated him his entire life. "You let those beneath us try to worm their way into our fam-".  
  
"You better thank God that I haven't shot you in the head yet, Hargrove!" Powell interrupted the man's nonsense with a well-deserved threat, shoving him harder towards the belly of the Police station.

Confusion returned once he watched his father get into the hall with the jail cells, so he turned back to his sister, who was visibly shaken by what Neil had just said.  
  
He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he could only say one thing at that moment, as it was the most important. "You're gonna be ok," Billy whispered, so only Max could hear, using the hand that was in her hair to rub circles on her cheek. The sight would have been extremely adorable to look at if it weren't for the situation they were in.   
  
Their lovely sibling moment was ruined yet again by a shout no one had caused other than the nerdiest of the 'party', Henderson.  
  
"Where's Steve?!" Dustin yelled, piercing their eardrums and Billy had the sudden desire to shut him up until he realized what the little shit had just said.  
  
Steve?  
  
What the fuck was he talking about?  
  
"Why the fuck are you looking for Steve in here?" Billy interrogated, finally releasing his hold on Max and looked attentively at the curly-haired kid. His own furrowed eyebrows implied the amount of his patience he had for the answer -which was none-.  
  
Before Dustin could begin his garbled and rushed explanation, Max replied for him with just a sentence: "It was Steve who saved Lucas," the word again was missing but it didn't need to be said.  
  
Billy for the first fucking time -in a long fucking time-, didn't know what to say.  
  
He didn't have to say anything. All the questions he had in his mind were all solved with that one answer. Of course, it was Steve that beat Neil's face in. Of course, it was Steve that prevented him from killing Sinclair. Of course, it was his pretty boy.  
  
His?  
  
Where the fuck did that come from?  
  
The blonde blinked away his thoughts when Max told Dustin that he was being held at one of the jail cells, which made Dustin, try to run to the hall until Powell stopped him, claiming that it was against protocol.  
  
"Steve! I'm right here, ok? If you need anything, just say so!" he shrilled annoyingly -annoying to Billy at least- and a distant thanks buddy was heard.  
  
Billy instantly grinned just from the sound of his voice, but it left as quickly as it came when he noticed how goofy he fucking looked. Fuck's sake. His reputation was about to blow cover just because of how thankful he was that Steve was at the right place at the right time.  
  
That was the excuse he came up with and chose to believe.

**⁂**

It took a few more hours for Lucas to arrive and give his statement to the police, and by police, it was Hopper himself -who the entire time had his fist clenched, very close to going over to Neil and beating him unconscious-.  
  
The boy had a sling on his arm from Neil twisting it, therefore dislocating his shoulder. His parents looked devastated -no one could blame them- as their son explained the hate crime that was done to him. Billy figured it wouldn't make them feel better if he told them Lucas was lucky that it wasn't his neck his father snapped, so he didn't bother saying anything at all.  
  
Max did most of the talking anyway; from apologizing, in which the Sinclairs' rightfully refuted as none of it was her fault, to asking every bit of detail on what happened to him at the hospital. Her brother curled his lips mockingly in disgust at how obvious it was that she cared for her boyfriend. Gross.  
  
Once Hopper collected all the statements from everyone involved, he made his way over to Steve's cell and unlocked it, letting Harrington free to leave. Neil voiced his disapproval, "how funny of you to let him go when I’m pressing charges".  
  
Jim took a good look at him with his stoic expression. "I'm sorry, what charges?" he asked, acting like he didn't know a goddamn thing.  
  
"Can you not see what he did to my face? I want justice for this," he demanded rather boldly, considering that he tried to kill a boy for the colour of his skin.  
  
Hopper gave a deep rumble of a chuckle with a smug look on him, which meant he had something up his sleeve. "The thing is, everyone apart from you stated that Steve had nothing to do with this," he hovered his hand around Neil's face.  
  
Neil held in a whimper as he painfully tried to furrow his eyebrows, "what are you trying to say?".  
  
"I'm saying that you ate shit, Hargrove," the chief replied smugly before turning to Powell, "did the kids say anything about Steve hitting him?" he asked him not-so seriously like this was all a joke to them -it was-.  
  
"Nope," the police officer played along, wanting Neil to get pissed just as much as anyone would. Technically this was against the law, manipulating statements and whatnot, but they figured that the situation called for it, since this man needed a taste of his own damn venom.  
  
"You're free to go, Harrington," Hopper announced to Steve before leaving with Powell to explain what would happen next to the rest of the people waiting.  
  
If Neil wasn't pissed by what just took place, he would be fuming at what happened right after. When Steve leaned down to the bars languidly and whispered:  
  
" **I _told_ you...**"  
  
Steve smiled so widely, wincing slightly from the sting on his busted lip as he strutted out of the hall. Neil's raised and garbled protests sounded like music to his ears.   
  
Billy witnessed Dustin's expression change from bored and slightly worried to the elated in seconds, and he didn't need to turn his head to know what was causing it.  
  
He turned his head anyway and saw Steve as he walked towards them, most likely heading for the curly-haired kid as he opened his arms for Henderson to hug him.  
  
As the two shared a heart-warming moment like they only had each other, the blonde couldn't help but observe the elder.  
  
It would've been a lie to say he never looked better, with bruises littered on his face like his moles and popped blood vessels on his left doe eye, completely covering the white with red. However, Billy never saw anyone so beautiful, and it scared him a little, as the only person that ever took his breath away -as he did- was his mother; who left a decade ago.  
  
If he was the same person as he was three years ago, he'd bang his head on a wall until those thoughts no longer existed. He wasn't that troubled boy anymore though, he wasn't ashamed of foreign feelings, he wasn't terrified to explore those emotions.  
  
But he did like to deny it all until it exploded in his face, like what was happening at this moment.  
  
_For fuck's sake_ , he thought.  
  
Steve then went on to embrace Max, who thanked him and in turn, received hushed words to her ear so no one could hear. Billy noted to ask his sister what he told her, later.   
  
It wasn't subtle that Harrington was having a hard time trying to hug Lucas without making him uncomfortable from his shoulder, it was almost too painful to watch his struggle, but in the end, they were able to come to a compromise by doing a side-hug.  
  
It seemed like he was hugging everyone at this point apart from him, which was insulting and not because he was jealous -he wasn't-, he just felt a little left out...  
  
Fucking hell. He was jealous -and he would take this fact with him to his grave-. But it didn't fucking matter, the only thing that did was how he was gonna get his hug.  
  
"Am I just a peasant to you, King Steve?" Billy asked cornily with a grin so cheeky and his arms, spread eagle. He had to admit that being an asshole while trying not to be crude was one of the biggest challenges he had ever attempted, considering the two often don't go together. However, the Sinclairs' were already disappointed in the Hargrove name and he really didn't want to add another reason for it -he could already feel their low-key judgement towards him-.  
  
Pretty boy looked like he wanted to raise his eyebrows in amusement, as he could sense his struggle -took an asshole to know one-, but the gash on one of them made it near impossible; only able to lift the other. He came over anyway, with a scoff and a shaking head as he walked into his arms.  
  
Nothing had ever felt so fucking nice.  
  
It was both a blessing and a curse; the blessing was that Billy got to feel what it was like holding Steve, the curse being that he wouldn't get to have this again probably.  
  
Just because he wasn't ashamed of having feelings, didn't fucking mean he was gonna tell the whole world -tell him- about it. But he did have something to say to the brunette.  
  
"Thank you," Billy mumbled to Steve, making sure that no one else heard what he said -again, reputation couldn't be tarnished for whatever damn reason-. His phrase of gratitude was rewarded with a small sound of surprise, like that was the last thing Harrington expected for him to do.  
  
The blonde froze for a short second when he heard it, sinful thoughts abruptly appeared in his corrupted mind; like if he just went on his knees that instant and took him in his mouth, would he make the same noise or would it be louder?-  
  
-Billy was the first one to pull away for an obvious reason.

Before Steve was able to reply 'you're welcome', Chief interrupted him and many others who were having a conversation, with a: "We have the statements that we need and released the Harrington kid, so I would appreciate it if y'all left us alone," which would've been harsh if it wasn't expected of Hopper to be grumpy as fuck.  
  
It worked though; since it acted as a catalyst for people to get out one by one. The first ones to go were the Sinclairs' because they didn't want to be anywhere near the man that hurt their kid. Reasonable at worst.  
  
Soon after it was Dustin and -sadly- Steve, in which Dustin had told the elder that his mother was waiting for the both of them outside since his car was by the theatre where he was going to pick Lucas and Max up from their movie date.  
  
Finally, it was Billy himself and the rest of the Hargrove family -well, apart from that one-, Susan had insisted that she could drop him off but he refused.  
  
"No offence Susan, but I'm not gonna go to my home when. Max is at that hell house," Billy claimed stubbornly, suggesting that he was going to go back to the place of his bitter memories just in case something happened.  
  
If it was up to him, he'd never leave her side until Neil would disappear from their lives.  
  
Susan defeatedly agreed to take the boy to their house in Cherry Lane as the three of them made their way out of the station.  
  
"While you're at home, please take a shower, you smell like kelp." Max brought out her bitchy; sisterly behaviour despite the shit that just happened to her and Lucas. Billy tipped his head back and let out a chuckle, having completely forgotten to clean himself as he was too busy thinking about her.  
  
"Love you too," He replied, and anyone who heard it would think it was sarcasm, but to the blonde, it was one of the most sincere words he ever got to say.  
  



	2. now i'm burning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> less serious than last chapter and also dirty O.O

As much as Billy didn't want to go back to California, he knew he had to since his dumbass car was still at the parking lot of the airport. Max also had been literally pulling his hair about how he shouldn't waste the rest of the booked days at the motel she and the gang paid for.  
  
How the hell he allowed her to even come near his curls was _beyond_ him.  
  
So that’s why he was here, back at the beach again with his surfboard under his feet as he rode the waves. However, something was different this time. The content feeling he usually felt when being one with the water was being tainted by something the blonde couldn't figure out.  
  
And in all honesty, it was starting to irritate him a little; this unfamiliar feeling that's made him unsatisfied with California, even though this place contained his happiest memories.  
  
Not to mention he'd also been eating ocean's shit a lot more than usual, especially when 'I Need a Hero' came on shuffle -yes, Shrek's version-, making him think of a certain somebody and therefore interrupting his concentration.  
  
Why the fuck did he have the song in his waterproof iPod in the first place? Like sure, it was a good fucking song and a way better version than the original, but was he so fucking gay that he had to download it?  
  
_For fuck's sake_ , he thought.  
  
When he got back onto the sand with his board clutched to his side, ready to leave, he saw in the corner of his eye, a boy wearing ray bans and Billy couldn't turn his head fast enough.  
  
Disappointment struck upon him when he realized he was nowhere near as pretty as the boy he thought he was. However, the excitement that he harboured when he did was way more than he ever felt throughout the entire couple of days that he was here.  
  
Surely he wasn't _fucked,_ right? He was ok.

**⁂**

A few days later and Billy had been at a diner in the middle of fucking nowhere, already halfway to Indiana when he was minding his own goddamn business -which consisted of him eating one of the greasiest burgers he's ever had, _Jesus_ , it was too late in the night for his metabolism to take-.  
  
Until a group of friends at a table or two away from him started talking about what they'd do during a zombie apocalypse.  
  
And usually, the blonde would ignore whatever was being said because, to put it bluntly; he didn't give a shit. But then one of them had to talk about how they'd make a bat made out of nails which made his mind go blank apart from one image.  
  
Yes.  
  
It was Steve fucking Harrington holding his bat like his life- no, his kids' lives depended on it. As messed up as it sounded, it was the only good fucking thing that came out of the upside-down.  
  
What wasn't good was when Dustin almost bit the fucking dust as a demodog tried to tear his damn throat that night, which was stopped by the pretty boy, who eviscerated the poor thing until there was nothing left to hit. Not only did Billy learn about the other world that day, but also how fucking frightening Steve was when he had to be.  
  
If Henderson hadn't been in a battle with death at that moment, he would've had a boner right then and there.  
  
This was why he was currently supporting one right _now_.  
  
For fuck's sake, he thought as he looked down at the bulge of his pants that no one -thankfully- was able to see as the table acted as a cover.  
  
When he finished his meal, his hard as a rock dick still made his presence known to him. Why was it that every aspect about him was as stubborn as hellfire? _Fuck you, Neil_ , he thought, blaming genetics for this moment and everything else.  
  
He really needed to get to his shit car.

**⁂**

" _Fuck_ ," Billy moaned quietly to himself as he finally wrapped his hand around his aching cock, his jeans down to his knees like he was a teenager watching porn for the first time. And the way pre-cum was leaking out from the tip, his dick weeping; suggested he wasn't gonna last very long.  
  
The blonde started to pump his fist in a vertical motion, his eyes shut as he let his head rest back on the driver's seat. He looked like he hadn't been touched in years, panting out little breaths that helped form little droplets on his windows, condensation taking place as the car was getting hotter, even though his car's heater wasn't on.  
  
Behind his closed eyelids, he conjured up an image of his pretty boy, his movements stuttered as his thoughts became clearer.  
  
It didn't take much time for Billy to see white, grunting as his balls tightened, spurting his release onto the steering wheel. The view was absolutely filthy. However, he hadn't felt that good in a long fucking time so he couldn't give any fucks.  
  
While he was basking in the afterglow of his orgasm, he couldn't help but think of what made him finish in the first place.  
  
Of course it was Steve. He was able to acknowledge that Harrington was hot enough for him to cum thinking about him, after all, the nickname 'pretty boy' wasn't coined ironically. Steve was the fucking prettiest in Hawkins, before and after high school.  
  
That wasn't the concern anyway; it was what Steve was doing that had Billy getting worried.  
  
He wasn't squirming on Billy cock, whimpering that it was too much. He wasn't thrusting his fingers deep into Hargrove, whispering " _good boy_ ," to his ear. He wasn't jerking himself off, being a complete fucking tease.  
  
Nope.  
  
He was just... **_smiling_**.  
  
Smiling his beautiful grin that had his eyes squinting a little as he let out a laugh that he could never get tired of hearing. That was what got him to shoot his load.  
  
And an epiphany hit him; a revelation that he was so in fucking love with the guy, and that he was realizing it after _masturbating_ to him.  
  
He was fucked without a doubt.  
  


**⁂**

**a week later**

  
  
He finished his shift on a busy day at the mechanic, the place he was working full-time -for a few years now-, when he arrived at the Byers' house, waiting for Max to leave so he can take them home. _His_ home.  
  
Since Neil -unfortunately- came back -because technically the police had no legal right to keep him at the police station-, it was deemed by Billy and Susan that it wouldn't be safe for the younger redhead to live at the Hargrove house, so Billy's apartment it was.  
  
But she was really taking her fucking time to get out and it was starting to annoy the shit out of him. He just wanted to have a rest in his fucking bed and watch some preacher, so he decided to take action and walk up the entrance of the Byers' and open the door without knocking. 

This would have seemed rude and weird if Joyce hadn't doted on him since he helped her kid, Will, a while back when he had a really bad panic attack.  
  
When he opened the door, he noticed that he wasn't the only one the mother was spoiling. Not to mention he stopped breathing for a slight second.  
  
Joyce and the rest of the party were at the living room, spoiling the shit out of Steve.  
  
El and Max had their hands in his hair, attempting to make tiny plaits because they've done it on long hair before but not shorter lengths, not pretty boy lengths. They would ask their boyfriends but even they knew that they'd rather be seen dead but Steve was a man; wasn't gonna take questionable hairstyles to make him less of one-.  
  
Dustin was trying to help Will with what looked like drawing the Harrington -he made a mental reminder to ask for copies-, but it wasn't Henderson's creativity that was helping, it was his words: "Steve! He's onto your nose now, so whatever you do, don't move your nose!" He screamed. How fucking extra.  
  
Believe it or not -it was pretty fucking believable- Joyce was doing the most. She had recipe books, piled up right next to her as she showed them individually to Steve, asking which one would he want her to make -try-. She must've shown him 10 recipes in the minute that Billy was standing by the entrance.  
  
Mike and Lucas were in their own world, probably talking to each other about their girlfriends or other topics teenage boys talked about -Billy wasn't straight ever so he wouldn't fucking know what subjects were their go to-.  
  
But that was probably the best thing they were doing to Steve. Leave him alone that was. Because he looked like he was going to explode with emotions very soon.  
  
**Overwhelmed**.  
  
Billy knew the feeling all too well when Joyce had been doing the same thing with him. He remembered the non-stop tears that made the mother hug him so tight yet so fucking gentle; it only made him sob harder.   
  
Thankfully, they were alone when it happened; Steve was in front of a whole crowd. He knew he had to get him out of there.  
  
"Pretty boy!" the blonde called out with his tone raised, making everyone in the room finally notice his presence. "I need to fucking talk to you so stand your ass up and come outside!" He ordered, and it has Dustin appalled when Steve immediately got up, apologising softly to the girls.  
  
"What do you have to say that requires him to leave the house, douchebag?!" Dustin interrogated, suspicious of the guy even though it's been years now since the incident -it was more like an act of banter but it still pissed the curly-haired boy that Billy could take him away just like that-.  
  
Henderson, however, made a huge fucking mistake asking that question, as it gave Billy the ammo to say whatever he fucking wanted. Of course he was gonna go with an inappropriate answer.  
  
"I wanted to know how he uses his tongue when he's rimming someone,"  
  
Steve started to cough violently, stumbling in his steps as Dustin's blue eyes widened in horror. The only person in the room that wasn't affected by his remark was El, who didn't know what rimming meant anyway.  
  
Billy was supporting the biggest fucking grin, please by the reactions of the gang. Although a little embarrassed by the disappointed look on Joyce's face.  
  


Luckily, he didn't have to endure them any longer as Steve raced out of the house, a sign that it was time for Billy to leave as well.  
  
Hargrove lead the elder to the car he hated with all his being -nothing could ever be like his baby, which he didn't have the money to fix-.  
  
When both of them were able to sit down inside, Billy decided to be an amazing samaritan and offer Steve a Marlboro light as he no longer used reds anymore -yes, he was aware that it made no fucking difference to his health but at least he was trying-.  
  
"Thanks," The brunet said in appreciation as he accepted the cigarette, putting the stick to his lips when the blonde lit it.  
  
"Thanks..." Steve repeated quietly, looking straight at Billy's eyes, and he knew that this wasn't about the cig he just gave.  
  
Billy waved his hand nonchalantly, before inhaling the tar down his lungs, feeling a slight relief relax his muscles. "I know how unbearable the attention can be," he replied after a pause, letting the smoke escape his lips.  
  
It was silent between the two, with only their long dragged puffs as the only thing they could hear. And they just sat there, not knowing what to say. Not caring to say anything. Both of them guessed the peaceful quiet would be compensation for the chaotic day they just had.  
  
"It's not like I'm complaining," Steve finally spoke when the cigarette had no life give. "They're not worse than what I'm normally used to," the brunet claimed as he glanced at Billy, hoping what he said made some sort of sense.  
  
And boy did the blonde understand.  
  
"And that is?" He asked because despite knowing the Harrington since he was almost seventeen years old, he still didn't know shit about the Harrington's. Which spoke volumes as he knew most of the moms in the all of Hawkins thanks to his former job at the community pool.  
  
"Constant disappointment as I contribute nothing to them," Steve spilt, a gate opening and bodies of water rushing out. "As I choose not to follow their dreams but take a risk chasing mine".  
  
Billy didn't really know which response would be the correct one, but he figured that it wouldn't be unlike him to be rude-  
  
"Fuck them,"  
  
-yet comforting.  
  
And it must've been the right thing to do, as Steve started to smile his fucking smile. The smile that Billy thought of whenever he was close to his climax.  
  
The blonde really didn't wanna support a fucking boner in front of the guy causing it, so he tried asking a question to get his mind focused on something other than his pretty boy's stupidly beautiful face. "What are your dreams then, King Steve?"  
  
"No way. You're gonna laugh," Steve flat out denied answering Billy's question; it had the blue-eyed boy deeply offended.  
  
"Don't be a bitch and just fucking tell me," he pressured, because he wasn't above being a dick to get what he wanted. He loved the boy but fuck it. He needed to find out what his aspirations were.  
  
For fuck's sake, why did that sound so corny? He thought.  
  
Then Steve whispered something beneath his breath that Billy couldn't make out, and it only made him more impatient. "I can't fucking hear you".  
  
"It's hair! I wanna style hair, you fucker!" the pretty boy shouted, cradling his face in embarrassment as he finally revealed what he wanted to do.  
  
Billy would be lying if he said that he saw this coming, that Steve dreamt of styling hair the way normal members of society dreamt of singing music in front of a whole crowd was predictable. But he wasn't being dishonest when he thought of how he should've, because of course out of all the goddamn people in the world; it would be Steve "The Hair" Harrington that had a thing for it.  
  
The blue-eyed slowly blinked at the elder, wondering if he should be genuine; to hold Steve's hands and look deep into the whirls of dark brown in understanding.  
  
Or if he should be his cruel fucking self that didn't deserve the man who was baring his soul and laugh arrogantly at his face, in what world was he worthy of him anyway? What could he fucking do to ever make himself redeemable? He was already in the hole, might as well go lower and hope he would reach the scorching lava.  
  
"Ok, Harrington. And?"  
  
Billy decided on neither.  
  
Steve sighed before explaining further; "Will told me about how beauty channels on Youtube are like a thing, so I might do it ya know?"  
  
"Become a Youtuber?" Billy asked carefully, really holding himself to not fucking laugh because of how random this all was.  
  
The brunet nods. "It's not like I'm smart enough to do academical shit and I don't wanna be working in a video store- which I’m surprised how it's still running," he said defensively, avoiding the blonde's gaze.  
  
And he just looked so fucking cute.  
  
Billy couldn't stop the grin on his face when Steve wasn't looking, admiring at how adorable his pretty boy was, like a new-born deer. Like Bambi.  
  
_Jesus_ , he had it comically bad.  
  
"I'm not judging you, Harrington. No need to be embarrassed baby," he coined, winking when Steve's face flushed with heat.  
  
Billy was gonna share to no one how calling him baby gave his stomach butterflies _. No one_. To his grave, he would gladly fucking take.  
  
The moment between the two could've gone for hours, just making conversation and one could say flirting even. But they had lives to fucking get to. People to take care of.  
  
Speaking of which-  
  
"Billy!" Max appeared by the car's driver window, putting an end to Billy and Steve's talk. The Hargrove didn't want anything more than to slam her head against the glass she was tapping annoyingly. However, he wasn't the troubled kid he used to be, he got out of the situation that made him monstrous. So ignoring those thoughts was the only option.  
  
"What do you want, shitbird?" the blonde demanded an answer before he noticed El, who had her arm interlocked with Max's with a hopeful expression.  
  
"Please, can El come and sleepover at our house? Please?" the spark begged, like a child wanting candy in a grocery store.  
  
Billy was just about to tell her no when it was Jane's turn to say please, with her innocent fucking eyes that puppies should only have. The way she always managed to crumble Billy's walls had to do something with her telekinesis, it had to be.  
  
He sighed in defeat; "does Hopper know?" and it had the girls reacting excitedly, squealing as they both got into the back of the car.  
  
"See you next time, Billy," Steve shared his farewell as he opened the door to get out, letting a smile act as a silent thank you before going back towards the Byers' house.   
  
The boy couldn't fucking wait for the next time.  
  


**⁂**

**a few weeks later**

It was Steve's fault technically. Or maybe it was Will's -he was the one who introduced the elder to the idea of becoming a YouTuber-.   
  
Billy researched about it, the perks of becoming a full-time content creator, and even he was convinced of making videos. Because who doesn't want money?  
  
So here he was, setting up his recently bought camera that made his savings take a weakening hit. Here he was, rehearsing what to say and do that made him look really fuckable because obviously it wasn't gonna be his love for cars that was gonna make the bucks, was it?  
  
Here he was, pressing the button that would make the camera capture what it saw.  
  
He knew that his first impression shouldn't be so strong, so rather than his usual animalistic grin, he smiled charmingly; waiting for the flies to settle to his Venus trap so he could unleash his dickhead behaviour that would get him successful later.  
  
"Hi."  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O.O

**Author's Note:**

> next chapter will be a little more unhygienic O.O 
> 
> also this is less funny than my previous fic sorry lol


End file.
